Courant Falls For A Ploy By Tobacco Companies

So what if Philip Morris is polishing its image by financing a 4-H project to discourage smoking, said a Nov. 19 editorial [``Anti-Smokers Overreact''] reacting to criticism of this partnership by Mobilize Against Tobacco for Children's Health.

So what? Because it's the same old deception wrapped in a new package designed to improve Big Tobacco's image while it continues to do its dirty business without interference or change.

It's about tobacco companies knowingly killing their customers while deliberately targeting and hooking kids to be replacement smokers.

Big Tobacco was caught with its proverbial pants down when trials uncovered its lies in its own documents. It lost credibility even among its own supporters.

So what do the tobacco companies do? Do they correct the wrongs? No. They continue to market to our kids while getting into the image-making business. They hitch onto groups such as the 4-H.

Think about it. How could tobacco companies possibly want to stop kids from smoking? The answer is simple -- they don't. They are in the business of selling cigarettes, not prevention and health promotion.

Because 90 percent of all new smokers start before age 18, Big Tobacco needs our kids to smoke. For The Courant to fall prey to Big Tobacco's latest public-relations ploy is a great victory for Big Tobacco.